


Comfort Food

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cooking, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Food, Movie Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 10:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2106654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It’s a food movie, right?” Darcy asked. She flopped down on a kitchen chair and looked at Bruce expectantly. He glanced up at her, frowning.</p>
<p>“Uh, food movie? I mean, it’s got food in it…” Bruce shrugged, looking back down at the bag of groceries he was unloading on the counter. </p>
<p>“You know, one of those movies that pretends it’s about the character lives, but the whole thing revolves around the food, and how cooking and sharing brings everybody together, makes the bad times okay and the good times better, family, warm fuzzy feelings, all that jazz?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort Food

**Author's Note:**

  * For [belligerentbagel.tumblr.com](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=belligerentbagel.tumblr.com).



> I wrote this for the Marvel Rarepair exchange, the prompt was bruce/darcy, fluff, kitchen disaster.

“It’s a food movie, right?” Darcy asked. She flopped down on a kitchen chair and looked at Bruce expectantly. He glanced up at her, frowning.

“Uh, food movie? I mean, it’s got food in it…” Bruce shrugged, looking back down at the bag of groceries he was unloading on the counter. 

“You know, one of those movies that pretends it’s about the character lives, but the whole thing revolves around the food, and how cooking and sharing brings everybody together, makes the bad times okay and the good times better, family, warm fuzzy feelings, all that jazz?” she said dramatically. He raised an eyebrow at her. 

“You’re sure you haven’t seen this one before?” he asked. She grinned in response, standing to pluck a tub of yogurt out of his hands and whisk it away to the fridge. 

“I took a few film studies classes in college while I was between majors, I know how this stuff works,” Darcy waved a hand dismissively.

“Okay, so it’s a food movie,” Bruce smiled indulgently, “why do you ask?” 

“Well, I was thinking. You cook for me all the time, and that is awesome, don’t get me wrong, no complaints there,” she leaned up to peck him on the cheek as she took the eggs and a head of cabbage from the bag, “but I thought maybe we could kind of go with the theme of the movie, and I could make something for you tonight? Like, an old favorite, something that has good memories attached?” 

Bruce paused. He recognized that too-casual tone.

“You’ve been planning this for a while, haven’t you?” 

“I’ve maybe been wanting an excuse to show off for you a little,” she said, looking up at him through her lashes. 

“You didn’t need an excuse, you could have just asked for a turn in the kitchen,” he said, “and you bake all the time, I am well aware of your skills.”

“I know, I know. But you know me, I wanted to do something fun-“ she started. Bruce snorted.

“Something dramatic, you mean,” he scoffed. 

“You love my drama,” 

His smile softened. 

“You know I do."

“Awesome!” she sang, “I’ll get started on my recipes!” 

******

Half an hour later, the kitchen was in a state of chaos. Every cutting board Bruce owned was in use. They were set on every available flat surface and loaded with mounds of chopped vegetables, as half the counter space was covered in flour. 

“Behind, behind, hot pan coming through!” Darcy cried as she whirled from the stove to the sink with the ease of a seasoned chef. Bruce thought it was especially impressive given how heavy the cast iron skillet she was holding one-handed was. He had given up on trying to make a second dish, and was standing with his back plastered against the fridge door, clutching a bowl containing rising bread dough to his chest and trying to be unobtrusive.

Watching Darcy felt like staring through a window into another world. He had always liked the comfortable domesticity of kitchen work. It was calming and grounding, the repetitive motions and the smells never failed to make him feel safe, even during the years he was on the run. Watching someone else cook for him was another experience entirely. 

Bruce cooked methodically. He took each step as it came, largely ignored whatever recipe he was pretending to use, and carefully cleaned up each ingredient when he was done with it. Darcy, on the other hand, was a tornado, whipping back and forth to check her handwritten recipe book as she worked three pans at the same time. There was nothing calm about her method, and he couldn’t help but smile as he watched her cursing and trying stir two pans at once. 

By the time she put the lid on her pot so it could simmer, her hair was falling out of its bun, her glasses were smudged, and there was a wild look in her eyes as she turned to Bruce.

“I think I got everything,” she said proudly, and moved to prop herself up against the counter. Her hand landed on a precariously balanced cutting board, which flipped off the table, launching the open bag of flour sitting on it into the air. It landed on the floor between them with a soft _pfwuff_ and a mushroom cloud of white. 

They stared at each other in shock for a long moment as the flour settled before Bruce doubled over with laughter and sank to the floor, still holding the bowl of bread. Darcy tried to glare at him, but the image of the fearsome Avenger sitting on his own kitchen floor, covered in flour, with tears of laughter leaking out of his eyes, was too much, and she sank down next to him on the floor. 

*****

“Well, I think it all turned out okay, considering,” Darcy sighed, scooting over so she could lean back lightly against Bruce’s side as the movie’s end credits scrolled across the screen. 

“I think we did better than okay, your soup was amazing. The kitchen’s not going to be fun to clean up, but it was worth it,” his arms came up to circle her shoulder, and she sighed and settled her weight against him at the permission. Her eyes fluttered shut as his thumb rubbed small circles into her neck. 

“Mmm, I’m glad you liked it. It was my Gran’s, she used to make it when somebody had a hard day. I figured that after the week you’ve had with those dumb-looking robots that some comfort food might be in order,” she said sleepily. He chuckled. 

“I knew you had an agenda, you always do,” he murmured against her hair. 

“My agendas work for you,” she said, and turned her head to catch his lips with her own. She flipped around to face him and fitted them together more fully. He let himself sink into the kiss, the soft slide of lips and the heat trapped in all the places their bodies touched, how good it felt to have her curves under his hands. His watch gave a quiet beep to indicate a slight rise in blood pressure. 

“Darcy…” he groaned, pulling away. 

“Hey, hey, I know,” she said quietly, smiling at him, and tapped the pulse readout on his watch, “same rules as always, big guy. You call the shots, whatever you can handle is good with me. Like I said, you had a rough week, I get it. I’m all about doing nice things for people who’ve had rough weeks.” She shifted, preparing to move back to her own side of the couch. 

“I tell you what, how about we leave the dishes for tomorrow, and stay like this for a while?” he said, running a hand up and down her back. She practically purred at the touch. 

“I think I could live with that,” she sighed happily. 

The DVD had flipped back to the title screen, and some quiet piano music was running on repeat in the background. Darcy’s body was warm against his, and he almost felt that he could drift off, lying there, when her chest started to vibrate with laughter.

“What?” he asked, craning his neck to look at her. 

“You’ve still got flour in your hair,” she teased, running her fingers through his curls. 

“I’m pretty okay with that,” he said. She grinned and pressed one more chaste kiss to his lips before settling back down against his chest. 

“Me too.”


End file.
